Top Picks for All Gardeners: Exceptional Flowers to Enhance Your Green Space
In an effort to create a beautiful and thriving garden that also supports pollinator health, here are seven easy-to-care-for flowers that are perfect for your outdoor space. Each of these flowers boasts vivid colours and offers various benefits, from attracting pollinators to deterring pests.
1. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
The Purple Coneflower, with its signature purple flowers, attracts bees, butterflies, and birds. This drought-tolerant plant thrives with minimal care, making it an ideal choice for a low-maintenance garden. Preferring full sun, it blooms from mid-summer to fall and can even provide winter interest if spent flowers are left unattended.
2. Zinnias
Easy to grow in vivid colours such as pink, red, and purple, Zinnias are a must-have for any pollinator garden. They prefer warm, sunny spots and are tolerant of drought. Deadheading spent blooms will keep them flowering all summer, making them suitable for cutting gardens and borders.
3. Marigolds
Bright and fragrant, Marigolds are known for their earthy aroma and vibrant yellow and orange flowers. Self-pollinating and low maintenance, they are ideal for garden beds and prefer full sun and average soil. Additionally, Marigolds help deter some common garden pests, such as aphids, Japanese beetles, and cabbage worms.
4. Lantana
Lantana produces multi-colored clustered flowers that change colour with age, making it an attractive choice for pollinators like butterflies and bees. Thriving in hot, sunny, and poor soils, this plant is drought-tolerant once established and is suitable for borders, slopes, or containers. However, it's essential to check the local invasiveness status before planting.
5. Salvia
Salvia offers dark blue-purple flower spikes that are drought-tolerant and easy to grow. Preferring full sun and well-draining soil, Salvia is suitable for gardens and large containers, and it attracts bees and hummingbirds. Hardy in zones 4-8, it's an excellent choice for a pollinator garden.
6. Alyssum
Small fragrant flowers in white, pink, or purple, Alyssum performs well in full sun to partial shade. It needs consistent watering and makes an excellent ground cover or companion plant to vegetables to retain moisture. Alyssum also attracts bees and other pollinators.
7. Daffodils
Bulbous spring bloomers with bright yellow or white trumpet flowers, Daffodils are a great choice for early pollinators. They can naturalize and return year after year with minimal care, preferring full or partial sun. Deer-resistant and deer-tend to avoid them, Daffodils are a reliable addition to any pollinator garden.
By planting this mix of flowers, you will create a low-maintenance, vibrant garden that supports pollinator health year-round and brings continual colour and life to your outdoor space. Happy gardening!
- To complement your home-and-garden, consider incorporating a home-and-garden lifestyle element, such as a low-maintenance pollinator garden featuring the Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Zinnias, Marigolds, Lantana, Salvia, Alyssum, and Daffodils.
- Transform your backyard into a picturesque pollinator-friendly oasis by embracing a home-and-garden lifestyle and planting an assortment of vibrant flowers like Purple Coneflowers, Zinnias, Marigolds, Lantana, Salvia, Alyssum, and Daffodils, found to boost garden appeal while providing a thriving habitat for pollinators.
